Ketsurui, Kourui
by One who once wrote here
Summary: Based on Fatal Frame. Little Tifa vanishs one night, and winds up at a huge mansion where some strange things are happening. But, nine years later, when the ritual is drawing close, someone is drawing Tifa away from her duty. CloudXTifa
1. Prologue: Before the Pain

Hey, people! It's been a while since I've posted anything so here's my new story. It's based on and inspired by Fatal Frame One and, maybe later on, Three. There are some ajustments and infering but you can deal with it. Now, READ!

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Fireflys danced around the latern hanging on it's post outside a plain white townhouse on the edge of Toyko. This particular house was one of many on the block that cropped around in a circle. In the center of the circle, lay a small neighborhood park adourned with cherry blosom trees. However, it was in this neighborhood, that many disappearences had happened over the past years, as far back as anyone on the block can remember. 

The strange thing about these disappearences, however, was no adult had ever disapeared. Instead, it was always children. Children always at the age of seven, never to be seen again. Because of this, parents on the street had refused to let their children out at night. Until the disappearing stopped that is, and no one ever cared to think that maybe they could start up again.

Just then, a young girl, just barely seven wearing a sky blue shirt and lit blue overals, and her mother, a woman in her mid twenties adorning a kimono like bathrobe, steped onto the front porch of their house.

" Are you sure you don't need me to come with you, honey?" The young girls mother asked, a worried look in her eyes. The girl shook her head wildly, cause her chestnut brown hair to spill all over her heart shaped face.

" Nope. I'll be fine, Mother. Don't worry." The little girl opened her arm wide, gesturing for a hug and her mother squated down and held her. Their embrace broke and the little girl began jogging to the park in the circles center. Waving after her, her mother called out.

" I want you home no later than seven-thirty! Be careful, Tifa!"

* * *

Hurry, Tifa!" one of her giggly friends shouted as Tifa dashed away from the " Oni ". As soon as Tifa had met up with her friends in the parks center, they had emidatly engaged in a wild game of Demon Tag, were whoever was it, is called the "Oni". She noticed a dark corner of the park and quickly sprinted behind a tree, hoping the "Oni" would run right by her, and it did, charging for another one of her friends who playfully screamed and ran at full speed right past the cherry blosom tree, Tifa was leaning on. The Oni was hunched over, wheezing for breath, and Tifa let out and muffled giggle. The Oni lifted his head to look at her, still panting and she swore that the Oni, a cocky redheaded boy named Reno, looked different.

She began to lose balance and several of the kids ran over to see whether or not there was a new Oni and were worried at the sight of their friendas she blankly stared into the distance.

Tifa's head was spining, and emitting a power head ache. She fell over, the dizzeness overwhelming the seven year old, and one of her friends reached out to her.

" Hey, Tif, are you alright?" The girl's hand was just an inch from Tifa's shoulder but when the blond touched it, her hand went right through. She screamed and recoiled, and everyone else jumped away as well. Tifa was also afraid.

' Whats happening to me?' She glanced at her small hands, and the fear in her crimson eyes grew as she saw her trasparent, almost non-exisent hands which every second that her red orbs peered at them, continued to fade in a very quick rate. Tifa wanted to cry.

Finally sense snapping into him, Reno had enough sense to run for help, taking all of the neighborhood children with him, half coming out of fear instead of loyalty for their friend, leaving poor, frightening Tifa, who's lower torso up to her chest, had completly fanished, all alone in the dark, cherry blosom park alone.

She knew they wouldn't make it back in time, and by the time they were, she, herself, would have completly vanished, to somewhere, or some time. Maybe, even into nothingness. It was then, Tifa began to weep. By then, the brunette was nothing more than a floating head, or more like half of one, for the speed of her Houdini act had rapidly increase. The park began to spin wildly, the pinks of the blosoms molding with the brown of the tree bark and the green grass creating something that resembled a split ice cream cone. Then, crying out in pain, for a sharp bolt of pain had struck head head, and she blacked out, just as the very tip of her head became nothing more.

* * *

A dull but loud and abnoxious voice awoke Tifa from her sleep. She lazily pushed her self up, not bothering to open her eyes, but as she did so, she realized she wasn't wear the same shirt and overalls she had been. Looking down and weakly opening her eyes, she let out a small grasp and realized that she was wearing a fancy, white slik kimono covering in a series of designs, mainly of butterflies. The voice of the loud woman began again.

" You all know why you are all here." Her voice sounded so dry, and by the way she worded the sentence, Tifa knew she couldn't be alone. Looking around, she noticed several, at least ten, children all about her age. The girls adorned the same white kimono as Tifa, and so did the boys. They were all staring intently at the woman, who Tifa guess after seeing the bandaging over eyes, was blind.

The room they all stood in was a large, empty room in what appeared to be some sort of a mansion, for the screens that lined the room were not of a Japanese common. Only some rich noble or, perhaps, royalty, could afford such a high class room, much less a mansion.

" The first and the last shall take part in the most important of the events. Everyone in between" She grinned, but no in a happy and silly way. More like teasing or taunting.

" Well, see about you. The game begins...NOW!" And, although the woman was blind, she charged out toward the group and children who, including Tifa, scattered.

The room was a mad house. Children rushed around, trying to be untouched by the blinded woman, and Tifa, who was crouching behind a shelf for a moment to catch her breath, finally understood what was happening. They were playing a game of Demon Tag, although in a somewhat different variation, and the woman was the Oni. However, instead of becoming the Oni, the tagged children would leave the room. After several minutes of intense play, only Tifa and a short haired girl with a long, pale face remained.

The blind dodged out toward the sound of muffled footsteps and Tifa expertly dodged with ease. She had been playing this game as long as she could remember and had been one of the best players on the street where she lived. As silently as she could, Tifa dived over to the other side of a large cabinet. She had just remebered what had happened before she woke up.

Her mother calling out her curfue. Dodging Reno, the Oni, in Demon Tag. Having a spliting headache. Dissappearing, and then, waking up in this mansion, unaware of how she got there.

" I wanna go home..." She whispered almost sobbingly.

Suddenly, the other remaining girl cried out and Tifa jumped out of her resting point to see that the pale faced girl had been tagged. Now, out of all the children in the room, she remain the only in the game. The older woman smiled as the other girl left the room on the verge of tears.

" Tell the first tagged to return." Comanded the woman, at the small girl. Apparently, she knew that their was only one person left in the room. The screen shut and moments later, another girl with long braided light brown hair and green eyes entered and approched the woman.

" You are?"

" Aeris Gainsbrough." the little girl replied slightly worried. She nodded.

" Young maiden, please call the remaining child to me. I know she's in here." Aeris nodded, her braid bouncing as she did so. Wildly peering around, she spotted Tifa, still frozen in the same spot, leening around the side of the cabinet. Waving her over like a landing airplane, Tifa hesistantly shuffled over to them. She had no idea what was going on or what she was getting into but Tifa thought it better to go along with them for now.

" What is your name, child?" She said very loudly and abnoxiously to Tifa as she stepped forward to meet her. This made Tifa wonder if maybe she was blind and almost deaf.

" I'm Tifa. Tifa Lockheart." Tifa replied somewhat shakily. The woman smiled, not friendly but as if trying to scare her with her yellow teeth.

" Let me be the first to congradulate you, Tifa. It is a great honor to receive this duty." Aeris nodded, as if agreeing, and Tifa was still confused as ever.

" You and Aeris shall take part in the two most important rituals. Aeris will take the same ritual as I. You, on the other hand," She gestured at Tifa," will be the holy power which blocks Hells Gate." Tifa, in addition to confusion, stared frightenedly at her.

" Um, I'm sorry to ask this, but," Tifa asked shaking with fright for what her anwser might be," what is the ritual I'm in again?"

The blind flashed another gruesome smile.

" The Strangling ritual. In ten years time."

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Oh, don't worry,(as I say in all my stories), it'll get better. Now, for those of you umfarmiliar with Demon Tag and the Strangling ritual, let me explain.

Demon Tag- bascially regular tag where the more people paying, the better. The only difference from normal tag it the "it" person is called the Oni.

The Strangling Ritual( I won't say much about this til later)- One ritual take took place in Fatal Frame and the ritual Tifa is to take part in. Before the ritual takes place, the shrine madien or Alter boy would be locked up in a dunguon for ten years so as to forget life outside and make them want to die. The chosen is taken care of, though.

I know I infered a lot in the story but thats because I don't own Fatal Frame. My mother claims it's too violent and I'm too young to play it. Thats bull &. Anyway, I get all my info about the games off of a fan site of it. Just message me if you want the link.

Here's a short Chapter 2 preview, Knight of the Rosebuds(name may change)

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" Guard the door. Don't let anyone in there. Got it?" The soilder nodded andtook his post as the priest left the room to atend matters elsewhere.

" Wonder what's in there?" Though the young soilder. He leaned towards the edge of the door which was partically cracked open, and what he saw surprised him. He had guess it was a storage room full of valubles such as gold or jewels, but, THIS!

The young male scrached his chin, debating in his head whether he should go in check to see if what he had seen was reall there. Finally deciding to check, he flung open the door to see that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him

" Hello?"called a soft voice in the dark.

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That's about it. Review if you want. 


	2. January Part 1

Well, I just got so into writing this story after chapter one, I had to start chapter two as soon as possible. Hope it's to everyone's liking. One last thing, if you're squeamish, I'm just warning you that you may not like a few upcoming chapters.

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Early morning mist fogged up the mountain trail taking three wary travelers closer to their destination, the Himuro Mansion. Leading the pack was a large black man with no left arm and two spiky haired young men, one with black hair walking between the other two and the other with blond hair who trailed at the back. The black haired boy crossed his arms. 

" Remind me why we're going up here?" Whined the boy annoyingly. The black man growled angrily in reply without looking at him.

" Because that's what are orders are. We were informed that some strange cult lives up here and are kidnapping kids for some damned, fake rituals." The man sighed.

" Do you get my drift, Zack?" He asked the black haired boy exasperatedly. Zack shrugged, and the man gave up trying to give this kid the idea. The blond man remained silent.

" Come on, Cloud, why so quiet and gloomy?" Asked Zack. Cloud, who had been gazing off at the forests scenery, laded his hazel blue orbs on Zack, who was staring over his armored shoulder at his comrade. Cloud shrugged and began staring at the forests many trees again.

" Whoa, take a look at that!" Said the older man stopping immediately, which caused Cloud and Zack to stop as well, and pointing towards the top of what appeared to be the roof of an immense mansion. Quickening their pace, a moment later they reached the point at which the lay laid.

The three stared in awe at the supreme sized house.

" Barrett," Asked Zack," are you sure this is the place? I mean, this looks like a house fit for royalty!" The black man known as Barrett nodded.

" Hell, I know it does, but, this is the place all right. It's got to be." He turned to face the two boys, whose attention immediately shifted from the house to their commanding officer.

" Know remember, act as though you share the same beliefs, and live as one of them. We need proof that they're doing what we've been told. Here," Barrett said, handing Cloud and Zack each an empty, glass vial.

" One of you needs to bear witness to one of the rituals in that place. If one of the recipients of the ritual is hurt in anyway at all by the priests, get their blood in this vial and we'll have proof of what they're doing. But, if those rituals don't involve blood, get any proof they stole those kids. Hell, bring one of the stole kids if you have to, just get proof. Understood?".

" Yes!" They both replied in unison.

" Then, get moving. If you need me," He pointed down the steep path," I'll set camp a mile or two down. If I come, it'll look suspicious. Now go!". And they hurried across the bridge to the dark mansion.

* * *

It'd been two days since Zack and Cloud joined the mansions people undercover. Zack had been appointed servant of the priest for one of the main rituals. Cloud, however, had been recruited as a messenger between the family master and the priests, which left him no time for contact with Zack, after delivering so many messages. And still, neither had seen anything suspicious. 

That is until the third day of their stay, when the main messenger boy had gone ill and Cloud had to serve in his place. He had rushed to and fro and finally came on his final stop of the day, delivering a message to the guard of a certain room the blond had never seen before.

" The master would like to speak with you about you little "problem"." Said Cloud just as it had recited to him. The priest, a man not much older than Cloud, looked around the room nervously and looked strait at Cloud.

" My friends ill so I'm the only one guarding. Could you take over for me while I'm gone?" The man asked desperately. Cloud nodded and the man perked up instantly.

" Thanks. Just one little rule." He said heading slowly out of the room. Cloud listened.

" Guard the door. Don't let anyone else in there. Got it?" The solider, Cloud, nodded and took his post as the priest left the room to attend matters elsewhere.

' Wonder what's in there?' Thought the young solider. He leaned towards the edge of the door which was partially cracked open, and what he saw surprised him. He had guessed it was a storage room full of valuables such as gold or jewels, but THIS!

The young male scratched his chin, debating in his head whether or not he should go in and check to see if what he had seen was real. Finally deciding to check, he flung open the door to see that his eyes weren't playing tricks in him.

" Hello?" Called a soft voice from the darkness.

Cloud jumped, surprised by the voice, and backed into the corner of the room. It wasn't a very big room. It was about size of a small walk in closet but almost more than half the room was blocked by iron prison bars, which blocked off the opposite size of the room from Cloud.

But was the most amazing, amazingly shocking that is, about the room was the person on the other side of the bars. It was a young woman, probably about seventeen, with long, silky, chestnut brown hair that hardly reached her rear. She had a pale, heart shaped face, a dainty nose, and amber red eyes. She had on a light blue kimono with a white sash and wooden sandals.

Seeing Cloud, she giggled, for the young man had such a look of surprise and unbelief, his expression made you want to laugh. He eased up, seeing this girl was no threat to him, and gave her a tiny grin.

' She must be a prisoner.' Though Cloud, but he wondered what girl at this age could have done to get locked behind bars. He figured it was best no to ask. The girl looked at him curiously.

" What are you doing in here?" She asked staring at him in wonder.

" I was filling in for the man guarding this room, but I guess I let my curiosity get the best of me." The girl looked disappointed when he finished. She leaned against the wall, staring at the crumbling ceiling, and sighed.

" I know what you mean. In not common to find girls in cells, is it?" Cloud didn't respond , which left a cold, eerie silence between the two.

" So," Said Cloud, trying to change the subject, as well as the gloomy mood," how old are you?" She looked at his attempt at a conversation and decided to help him out.

" I'm sixteen, going on seventeen in four months. You?"

" Eighteen as of five months ago."

" Your new around here, aren't you?"

" What makes you say that!" Asked Cloud suspiciously. She shrugged.

" Well, no one comes in here without a mask on, or they don't come at all. You came on accident, and I don't think you're wearing a mask." She smiled and giggled again.

" You know," She said," You're kind of funny. What's your name?" He stared at the girl for a moment. No one he ever meet said he was funny, much less a person he had just met.

" My name's Cloud Strife." She nodded and smiled at Cloud.

" Pleased to meet you, Cloud. I'm Tifa Lockheart."

Just then, muffled footsteps could be heard down the hallway and they sounded like they were heading towards the previous room Cloud was in. Tifa gasped.

" You'll get in serious trouble if you're seen in here! Hurry, Cloud, go!" Nodding, he dashed outside to shut the door. Grabbing the handle, he stuck his head through the open doorway one last time.

" Nice to meet you, Miss Tifa." He said kindly, making direct eye contact with the brunette's glowing amber eyes. She gave a small wave and Cloud softly shut the door, as not to attract attention from the nearing footsteps. Tifa smiled to herself sadly.

' He was just on temporary duty. I'll probably never see him again." She sat down on the hard, stone floor and stared at the door, hoping to see him again, and then put her head in her knees.

" And I was so close to making a friend..."

* * *

" Sorry, I made you take my watch." Said the man, making his way to Cloud, who was standing out side of the door in a bored way.

" Your dismissed." Cloud nodded and exited the room.

As he strolled down the hallway, he could help but think about Tifa. He knew he probably couldn't see her again, the house priest wouldn't allow it, but, some in him wanted to see that girl again. No one had ever been that friendly to him right away and, Cloud couldn't understand why she'd want to. He just had to see her again, to ask her why she was so nice.

That's when an idea popped into his spiky head.

" That's perfect!" Said Cloud to himself and he raced off to his quarters to prepare for the next day. He knew that soon, he'd be about see Tifa again. He just knew.

* * *

Crappy ending. Didn't tell the idea or anything, how insane. Anyway, more about the ritual. Every chapter, I'll tell a little more. 

Strangling Ritual- Takes place every ten years after the maiden has been locked up for the about of time. On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the ritual begins with the maiden purifying her body.

No more for know. One quick thing before the chapter three preview. I've decided that each chapter will take place one month after another(There will be exceptions). In short, a lot of chapters. Here's the chapter three preview, Mind( may change).

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" Why'd you do that?" Tifa asked unbelievingly. He could tell she was furious at him. 

" Well," Cloud spoke sheepishly," I just wanted to talk with you again." He slightly blushed and looked intently at the dirt to the left of his left foot. Her anger diminished just as quickly as it had erupted. Bewilderingly, she starred at him.

" You? You wanted to talked with me?" Cloud looked back to her shimmering crimson eyes, which were completely focused on him, and nodded.

" I don't remember anyone ever saying that to me. Ever."

* * *

That wasn't the most exciting preview, but, it'll have to do. Thanks for the reviews:) And feel free to review if you feel like it. 


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